9 Thoughts Successful People Refuse To Believe

Beliefs precede thoughts. Thoughts precede actions. Actions determine your journey and your destination. So, it all starts with beliefs. Successful people not only have a different set of beliefs, they also refuse to believe so many ideas that seem to be commonplace.

Here are nine thoughts successful people refuse to believe:

1. They Don’t Think That The Right Timing is Everything

Successful people like the timing to be right, just like everyone else- but they also know that the right timing is not everything. All that the right timing will provide is an edge – the work needs to get done and they don’t shy away from it. They take control of what they CAN do with what they have.

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2. They Don’t Believe Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Successful people know that ‘slow and steady’ rarely wins the race because they know that there are other smart people out there who are ‘smart and fast’ and playing the same game.

The concept of “slow and steady wins the race” was popularized by the famous Tortoise and the Hare story, in which the hare sleeps in the middle of the race, paving the way for the tortoise to win.

The problem with this?

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Flawed logic.

In the real world, if a race between the tortoise and the hare actually happened, there is a little chance that the hare would sleep in the middle of the race.

Successful people pierce through such flawed logic before blindly believing something.

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3. They Don’t Believe It’s a Sign of Weakness to Ask for Help

Successful people know what their strengths are and they also know where they need to receive help. The good part is that they are not afraid to seek out that good help that they need to make something meaningful happen.

4. They Don’t Believe That They Have to Be Right to Be Respected

Successful people have an opinion, but they don’t claim that their opinion is the only opinion that counts. Their self-esteem is high enough that they are the first to admit if they are wrong. In other words, they are “often wrong, never in doubt.” (Yes, that’s the title of a book by Donny Deutsch)

5. They Don’t Believe That Others Have to Reciprocate

Successful people can move the needle for a lot of people. Only a small percentage of them will reciprocate back in some way. The good news is that successful people are aware of this skewed ratio and are at peace with it.

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6. They Don’t Believe That They Can Skip Reciprocation

While successful people don’t expect people to reciprocate, they are very clear and committed in their choice to reciprocate- in terms of things like time, energy, money, mind share or insights- with anyone and everyone who makes a meaningful contribution to their lives.

7. They Don’t Believe in Waiting to Get Lucky

Successful people don’t wait for luck to strike them in order to achieve a breakthrough. They believe in the old saying that “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”.

8. They Don’t Believe That Luck Does Not Exist

Successful people don’t dismiss luck either. When they do get a breakthrough because of a lucky strike, they acknowledge the effect of luck and do not give themselves undue credit for that accomplishment or breakthrough.

9. They Don’t Ever Believe That They Have Made It.

Successful people thrive on taking a meaningful journey. A milestone reached or an accomplishment they are proud of is all good, but, for them, these milestones and accomplishments are part of the journey and nothing more. In their mind, their life is in “permanent beta” (a term I first heard from Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn). This worldview keeps them hungry to learn more.

Why To-Do Lists Don’t Work (And How to Change That)

How often do you feel overwhelmed and disorganized in life, whether at work or home? We all seem to struggle with time management in some area of our life; one of the most common phrases besides “I love you” is “I don’t have time”. Everyone suggests working from a to-do list to start getting your life more organized, but why do these lists also have a negative connotation to them?

Let’s say you have a strong desire to turn this situation around with all your good intentions—you may then take out a piece of paper and pen to start tackling this intangible mess with a to-do list. What usually happens, is that you either get so overwhelmed seeing everything on your list, which leaves you feeling worse than you did before, or you make the list but are completely stuck on how to execute it effectively.

To-do lists can work for you, but if you are not using them effectively, they can actually leave you feeling more disillusioned and stressed than you did before. Think of a filing system: the concept is good, but if you merely file papers away with no structure or system, the filing system will have an adverse effect. It’s the same with to-do lists—you can put one together, but if you don’t do it right, it is a fruitless exercise.

Why Some People Find That General To-Do Lists Don’t Work?

Most people find that general to-do lists don’t work because:

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They get so overwhelmed just by looking at all the things they need to do.

They don’t know how to prioritize the items on list.

They feel that they are continuously adding to their list but not reducing it.

There’s a sense of confusion seeing home tasks mixed with work tasks.

Benefits of Using a To-Do List

However, there are many advantages working from a to-do list:

You have clarity on what you need to get done.

You will feel less stressed because all your ‘to do’s are on paper and out of your mind.

It helps you to prioritize your actions.

You don’t overlook so many tasks and forget anything.

You feel more organized.

It helps you with planning.

4 Golden Rules to Make a To-Do List Work

Here are my golden rules for making a “to-do” list work:

1. Categorize

Studies have shown that your brain gets overwhelmed when it sees a list of 7 or 8 options; it wants to shut down.[1] For this reason, you need to work from different lists. Separate them into different categories and don’t have more than 7 or 8 tasks on each one.

It might work well for you to have a “project” list, a “follow-up” list, and a “don’t forget” list; you will know what will work best for you, as these titles will be different for everybody.

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2. Add Estimations

You don’t merely need to know what has to be done, but how long it will take as well in order to plan effectively.

Imagine on your list you have one task that will take 30 minutes, another that could take 1 hour, and another that could take 4 hours. You need to know the moment you look at the task, otherwise you undermine your planning, so add an extra column to your list and include your estimation of how long you think the task will take, and be realistic!

Tip: If you find it a challenge to estimate accurately, then start by building this skill on a daily basis. Estimate how long it will take to get ready, cook dinner, go for a walk, etc., and then compare this to the actual time it took you. You will start to get more accurate in your estimations.

3. Prioritize

To effectively select what you should work on, you need to take into consideration: priority, sequence and estimated time. Add another column to your list for priority. Divide your tasks into four categories:

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Important and urgent

Not urgent but important

Not important but urgent

Not important or urgent

You want to work on tasks that are urgent and important of course, but also, select some tasks that are important and not urgent. Why? Because these tasks are normally related to long-term goals, and when you only work on tasks that are urgent and important, you’ll feel like your day is spent putting out fires. You’ll end up neglecting other important areas which most often end up having negative consequences.

Most of your time should be spent on the first two categories.

4. Review

To make this list work effectively for you, it needs to become a daily tool that you use to manage your time and you review it regularly. There is no point in only having the list to record everything that you need to do, but you don’t utilize it as part of your bigger time management plan.

For example: At the end of every week, review the list and use it to plan the week ahead. Select what you want to work on taking into consideration priority, time and sequence and then schedule these items into your calendar. Golden rule in planning: don’t schedule more than 75% of your time.

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Bottom Line

So grab a pen and paper and give yourself the gift of a calm and clear mind by unloading everything in there and onto a list as now, you have all the tools you need for it to work. Knowledge is useless unless it is applied—how badly do you want more time?